After 2022 REVOLT Summit touched down in Atlanta last month, there’s no doubt that this year’s festivities will go down in the history books. REVOLT’s two-day takeover brought the entire city out for so many dope moments, and they were all curated with the intention of inspiring the youth, empowering the Black community at large, and providing resources for Black creatives across the globe. From star-studded live discussions on leading podcasts like “Rap Radar” with guest Gucci Mane to unforgettable keynote speeches from activists and thought leaders like Tamika D. Mallory and 19Keys, no stone was left unturned. Not to mention, performances from Nardo Wick, Baby Tate, DreamDoll, and more. Those in attendance had a ton of fun and walked away with priceless career advice — what more could you ask for?
REVOLT checked in with some of the famous faces who attended to see what their Summit experiences were like. Read what Ray J, Guapdad 4000, Coi Leray and more had to say and tune in here if you couldn’t attend this year.
1. Bobby Shmurda
“I’m excited to be here around all of these Black people and to talk about cannabis cause I’m high right now. But seriously, I want more of us to know how we can get to the bag with weed because we’ve set the tone with it in our music, on our block, just everywhere.”
2. Boosie
On being a part of the Summit’s “Big Facts Live” taping:
“People know that I share my truth and I stick to my truth, so at places like this, a lot of people feel I need to be heard and I’m a voice for a lot of people who can’t talk. And when Boosie speaks, I got a platform that I speak on, but I speak with realness in me. Everything I speak, I mean it. I might say it wrong sometimes, but I speak with knowledge, too, if you listen.”
3. Jason Lee
“I’m excited to be here at the REVOLT Summit talking about cancel culture with Ray J, NeNe Leakes, and Amber Rose because I really feel like it’s not a real thing. It’s only something that I think exists in the minds of us Black people, and then the control of it exists in the hands of [the] mainstream. So, we find ourselves seeing situations where people who are moving culture get caught up in a moment or say something that somebody doesn’t like or [that] doesn’t align with the mainstream and their narrative and interests.”
He added, “I want to go back to the era where you can say what the f**k needs to be said. Art is art. Comedy, music, like, I want to get to a place where we can just do what we need to do to entertain and if we f**k up, let’s take our scratches, get up, and keep moving. White people have stood behind Joe Rogan when he said n**ger, n**ger, n**ger, and then Whoopi Goldberg got a two-week suspension like a woman on the fish fry for saying what she thought about Judaism. So I mean, I don’t know, it’s crazy.”
4. Smino
“I’ve never been to the REVOLT Summit before, so I’m most excited to see what it’s about. See what all these Black people got to offer around here.”
5. Sevyn Streeter
“It’s been amazing. I mean it is what it is, it’s Black excellence. I really enjoyed the [Be Heard] competition the most because I love it when artists want to come out and they’re giving their all, they’re showcasing their talents. It’s been amazing to see up-and-coming artists out here actually being surrounded by the people that are judging them. I’ve enjoyed that.”
6. Ray J
On his “Cancel Culture” panel experience at REVOLT Summit:
“I’m glad we could have that conversation because I want people to know that if you believe in something and you stand for something, that’s all that matters.”
7. NeNe Leakes
On being excited for the “Cancel Culture” panel:
“I’m excited for this panel because I always tell people that I just am who I am, I’m just a regular girl. Why would I change now? I’m still regular. I feel like it would be phony if I changed now. Actually, I feel like if I was phony, I probably would be doing a lot more things. I just plan to get up there and continue to keep it real and tell people exactly what it is without hurting anybody’s feelings.”
8. Coi Leray
“This experience has been amazing. I felt really appreciated. I had a crazy year last year, came even stronger at the top of this year and continue to just grind it out. And you know, I love it. I love Diddy. I think he’s a superhero, period. And I always said I’m like the female Diddy. Y’all know what I mean when I say the female Diddy — my hustle is immaculate.”
9. Amber Rose
“This has been an amazing experience and it’s my first REVOLT Summit. I’m most excited for this ‘Cancel Culture’ panel though because I know I’ve said things that I didn’t necessarily mean years ago, and I changed my mind or somebody sat down with me and told me that what I said was wrong, and I feel like we should just give people the opportunity to make mistakes.”
10. Sukihana
“This is my first time at the REVOLT Summit, and it’s been filled with a lot of love from everyone and a lot of support. They weren’t even expecting me to come, but I came to support and I’m having a good time networking and talking about my music.”
11. Elliott Wilson
“It’s funny because when they first approached us to tell me about doing the ‘Rap Radar’ podcast out here, I was very excited. It’s been beautiful. You’re touching the community, you’re touching the young creatives so the energy here is way different. I like it a lot. I’m excited to be here. Shoutout to the whole team. I think it’s been well-curated and again, really just touching the people in the community, which is important.”
12. Erika Alexander
“This is my first time at the REVOLT Summit and it is exciting because they’re talking about ‘The Future is Now,’ which is a question that I always ask. I’m about afrofuturism and the future because I think that those are some of the things we don’t think about because we live such an extraordinary, stressful everyday life. How can we create the future in our decisions now?”
She continued, “I really like that it’s posed inside of a futuristic ideal sort of conversation. We had a really great conversation up there and it got really spicy, everybody should check it out. I was glad to be up there with people who are experts. I’m educating myself in this space. All I’ve got to say is that I’m really proud that REVOLT has taken it upon themselves to not only be a river to their people in entertainment and television, but also to educate our people and to provide conferences and important discussions like this. That’s really nice.”
13. Rizza Islam
“It was powerful. Definitely one that people felt more than anything else, but I want to make sure we don’t just feel that … we actually apply what it is that we’re talking about. I don’t like when people go to events and we talk and talk and talk, and there’s no action behind it.”
14. Guapdad 4000
“My REVOLT Summit experience has been amazing. We did a panel on ‘The Future of Independence’ and I think a lot of people go wrong — and where we see a lot of artists fall into these pitfalls or fall off in general is because they don’t get to develop. They get an organic hit or an organic moment that makes them feel like it’s a hit, but haven’t been developed. They haven’t done the sh**ty shows in the museum, which is for security, you know — that’s the type of stuff to help you be a superstar, to help you perform on that level, so it’s important for people — whether you’re independent or not — to see how the journey goes.”
15. Wayno
On moderating “The Future of Hip Hop” panel:
“It’s been great, I’m feeling good. It’s a lot of nice energy. It’s a lot of beautiful people here. I’m happy to be here. I think this is my second time. The first was in 2016 when it was the conference in Miami. This one has been good so far and I’m excited to be doing a panel later. I’m actually moderating the panel, but at the same time, I’m a media personality and I’m also an executive. So, I’m actually talking to one of my friends who is an executive as well. These are just conversations that we have all the time. So, I just basically got prepared to talk to my friend but outside of that, just ask him a couple of challenging things that some of the people that are up-and-coming want to know.”
16. Lou Williams
“This has been a great experience because music is a huge passion of mine. I’ve always involved myself in the entertainment side of it and the business side of it. I got the pleasure of working with [my artist] Akeem Ali. He’s such a talented artist, he’s gonna be somebody that springboards our label, Winners United. He’s gonna be our North Star.”
17. Akeem Ali
“This is my first REVOLT Summit and it’s been really good. It’s a lot of beautiful people out here, a lot of insightful stuff. I’m learning a lot, seeing a lot and just out here being as handsome as I can, minding my business, drinking water, staying cute, you know?”
18. DJ Drama
“The REVOLT Summit is the culture. If we want to take it back, you know, REVOLT as an entity that Puff aka Sean “Diddy” Combs aka Love created, he literally is the blueprint for all of us. I like to say the sky’s not the limit, the sky’s just where we stand. [The Summit] is in a city, like this is home for me, and a lot of my career is based upon finding or being a part of new talent, new artists, singers, producers, what have you. Me being here and being able to see the talent of tomorrow, the future of tomorrow, that’s what the culture is all about. That’s why I named my company Generation Now, it’s about what’s coming up next.”
19. Baby Tate
“My Summit experience has been cute. We came in, we did the show. We are about to eat some food and have a good time.”